Author Archives: dazunj

Say āyubōvan to Yakapuu!

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A WordCamp is no fun without a Wapuu. We are very excited to introduce our very own Wapuu “Yakapuu” to represent WordCamp Colombo 2017!

What’s a Wapuu, you might ask? Wapuu is essentially the unofficial mascot of WordCamps. The idea was first floated in 2009 at the WordCamp Tokyo after-party, where Matt asked Japanese users for ideas to promote WordPress in Japan, and one of the suggestions was to create a mascot. One thing leads to another and finally, Wapuu was born! (Here’s the complete story for those who want to know more) Ever since then, almost every WordCamp has had their own Wapuu.

Yakapuu means wapuu wearing the “Gini Jala Raksha” mask. Wearing of masks in dance performances and the art associated with creating them are among the major cultural traditions in Sri Lanka. The masks being used in the Sri Lankan dances represent the four main types of our own ancestors:

  1. Yaksha
  2. Naga
  3. Rakus
  4. Deva

…and they are a representation of how they dressed to fight during the war.

In WordCamp Colombo 2017,  you will get to witness yourself, the “Ginijala Raksha Dance”. That is our “Wapuu Dance”!

 

 

Call for Speakers

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Have a Great WordPress Experience to Share? You are Invited!

WordCamp Colombo 2017 is Sri Lanka’s first ever WordCamp, and being a speaker at this event will have a profound impact on our WordPress community. We are expecting to attract attendees from a wide range of interests within the WordPress world, and are therefore looking for an equally diverse array of speakers.

You don’t necessarily have to possess a decade of work experience to be a speaker. Remember, WordPress itself recently turned 14! Speaking is not even about dishing out tons of information while on stage — there is no shortage of information. It is not even about dazzling slideshows.

So what on earth are we looking for? We are looking to hear great, hard-hitting and memorable stories from your experience with WordPress. We want to motivate ourselves to deepen our understanding of the world’s most popular content management system!

If you need examples, check out the assortment of talks at WordPress.tv

The Topics

It would be wonderful to have talks related to the following areas of WordPress – but you are welcome to suggest your own:

  • WordPress for Beginners
  • Design Thinking
  • Freelancing
  • Business growth
  • Community
  • Accessibility challenges
  • Content
  • Back-end development
  • JavaScript-driven Applications
  • Hosting
  • SaaS (software as a service)
  • UX (user experience)

We’re welcoming applications from people in Sri Lanka and all over the world.

Presenting a talk at WordCamp is going to a fantastic experience for all of us involved. Even though WordCamp Colombo will not able to cover any travel or accommodation expenses, we will be available to support every speaker with advice in the run up to their talk.

Note: Our Call for Speakers (first round) has closed at midnight UTC, 21st July 2017.